In Spring 2023, Goff Strategic Leadership Center Scholars students had the honor of working on a project for Off Highway Van (OHV). This Utah-based company builds the highest-quality campervans on the market to allow you, your family, and your friends to experience the outdoors for life, in unimaginable ways. Their strength is in advanced engineering and customization, expertise that founders Robbin and Aaron bring to the table in spades. However, OHV noticed that their sales were not at peak capacity.
Challenges
- Revenue: evaluate and recommend revenue-generating opportunities
- Marketing: identify strategic opportunities for refining marketing/sales strategies to improve OHV’s sales funnel
The Scholars program, in which high-achieving Goff students learn and apply business analytics tools and strategy frameworks to business strategy questions, gives students the opportunity to work in cross- functional teams and conduct in-depth research on a wide range of areas within partner organizations. This was Jacob Coopman’s experience – a junior finance major, who served as one of the project managers for the marketing side of this project. He loved the chance to work with OHV because they have “a very unique, personalized and interesting product. Being a Utah local, I grew up loving the outdoors which gave me a huge personal interest in Off Highway Van.” He goes on to share that “by completing mock-up web pages to identify competitors in the market, I was able to learn more about the automotive industry, better ways to market, and the potential competitive landscapes surrounding it.”
“By completing mock-up web pages to identify competitors in the market, I was able to learn more about the automotive industry, better ways to market, and the potential competitive landscapes surrounding it.” ~ Jacob Coopman, Junior, Finance
Results
After conducting and analyzing their research, the Scholars teams shared several recommendations with OHV, focusing on helping them weather the potential impending economic downturn.
- Digital Marketing: OHV should integrate their high-quality social media content with their website to better communicate the value they bring to the market.
- B2B Parts and Service Sales: OHV should consider ramping up their B2B parts and service sales, an area that is typically less sensitive to changes in the economy and that would provide OHV with a more stable revenue stream.
After hearing the recommendations, Off Highway Van CFO Robbin Sowinski was thrilled. “We are so impressed with the students! The amount of work and analysis they produced in a short period of time was not only helpful to our business, but also a reflection of the quality of education offered at the U.”
Cory Sternlight, a senior Finance major, worked on the financial modeling for this project. He shares: “I loved working on the OHV project with my classmates because it gave me the opportunity to build a financial model that would be presented to a real company. There are no other opportunities within our business school that have come remotely close to the experience I received from this project, especially in my desired career path. I am incredibly grateful I was able to be a part of this team and this program as a whole.” Throughout this project, Scholars incorporated knowledge they learned over the past year of this intensive program, creating actionable insights for a company we hope will be serving outdoor enthusiasts for years to come.
“I loved working on the OHV project with my classmates because it gave me the opportunity to build a financial model that would be presented to a real company.” ~ Cory Sternlight, Senior, Finance